SS Water Council groundwater session probes what’s going on beneath our feet

By MURRAY REISS

Special to the Driftwood

Even though as many as half of all islanders depend on groundwater for a safe supply of drinking water, we know much less about the quantity or quality of the water in Salt Spring’s fractured-rock aquifers than we do about the water in our lakes.

As a first step towards increasing our knowledge, the Salt Spring Island Water Council is hosting a groundwater workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The workshop will include presentations, a panel discussion and small group sessions.

Pat Lapcevic from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations will start things off with a talk on the ministry’s proposals to change the way groundwater is governed and managed in B.C., followed by a presentation from ministry staff on groundwater contamination and well protection.

Dr. Alan Gilchrist, from Vancouver Island University, will talk about Vancouver Island’s groundwater resource vulnerability mapping project and Water Council member Rick Gilleland will describe Salt Spring’s own well-monitoring network.

Health considerations related to groundwater will be addressed by Erwin Dyck from Vancouver Island Health Authority.

One of the big unknowns with groundwater is how it will be affected by climate change. Diana Allen from Simon Fraser University will share the latest findings from her research on this topic. Finally, Hugh Greenwood, also from Salt Spring, will discuss a proposal for a detailed quantitative study of the island’s wells to improve our understanding of our groundwater sources.

All the speakers will take part in a panel discussion after lunch to share their views with one another and answer questions from the audience.

The workshop will wind up with small group discussions. Everyone attending will be asked to look at the day’s proceedings in terms of issues and actions that are relevant to Salt Spring.

The Water Council hopes this will help to identify the main concerns about groundwater supply and quality on Salt Spring and suggest actions we can take to address these concerns.

Workshop attendance is free but, due to limited space, advance registration is required. To register, please contact Water Council coordinator Peter Lamb: 250-537-4859; plamb@imagen.ca.

The deadline for registration is Wednesday, Feb. 15.